This invention relates to an inflatable pool and particularly to an inflatable pool having an inflatable wall with axially extending and intercommunicated elongated air compartments and axial heat seal seams at the outer side and the inner side of the wall, each heat seal seam on the outer side being staggered with the inner side of the wall.
It is known in the art to provide a portable and collapsible inflatable pool for use as a bath tub or a swimming pool for children. A typical inflatable pool available heretofore includes a tubular inflatable wall with a single tubular air compartment which is usually fabricated in a smaller size and height because of the weakness in its construction. There is also provided another form of inflatable pool which has a tubular inflatable wall with two or more intercommunicated tubular air compartments structurally interconnected along ring-shaped heat seal seams. Such a construction permits the fabrication of a larger pool, but, when a large quanitity of water is held in the pool, the wall thereof becomes deformed. Therefore, it is still necessary to provide a stronger and stiffer wall for a large inflatable pool which is capable of bearing greater fluid pressure.
A strong construction for inflatable articles, such as seat cushions, matresses, life rafts, life jackets, sleeping bags and the like was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,640. These articles are composed of permanently inflated non-communicating compartments whose individual puncturing and deflation will not result in the deflation of the other inflated compartments. Since the permanently inflated non-communicating compartments can not allow the article to be deflated and collapsed into a compact and portable size, such a construction is not suitable for the fabrication of a pool which is large and therefore must necessarily be deflated when it is stored.
Patent application Ser. No. 467,546 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,919 discloses the construction of multi-compartmented inflatable articles in which heat seal seams are reformed and reinforced. The invention of the present application is to apply such a construction in fabricating an inflatable pool.